Post UCA/Coilover Install Observations and Questions

Thanks to the folks who helped answer a couple of questions on my "pre-install" thread a few days ago. I was able to get them on and drive out yesterday, and have a few questions (and observations) I'd appreciate some help on.

I didn't have any issues with the install itself, though the sway bar was a real annoyance -- took it out and ran out of time to get it back on so I'll have to wait a week before I can put it back on. (I've read the threads on pros/cons of sway bar removal -- I will be keeping it on for daily use)

Pre-install, the distance from wheel-center to the fender was an even 20.25" on both sides.
Post-install, I now have 22.25" Driver Side and 22.5" Pass Side, resulting in about 2 inches of lift.

Out of the box, the coilovers were showing 1 and 3/16" of threads showing. I made 3 rotations on each coilover bringing the separation to about 1 and 7/16" of threads showing. Given that the current fender distances are slightly different, I assume I should make a minor tweak to one coilover to even this out, right?

Once concern I have is how close the reservoir hoses are to the coilover spring:


(The other side is about the same -- ~1mm separation)

This looks unusually close to me -- I looked over the instructions multiple times and don't see how I could install anything differently to increase the separation. The hose is very stiff and with the supplied relocation brackets, the reservoirs themselves only really fit one way.

Here is a picture of the whole setup (Driver Side):



I do realize that the reservoir and coilover are essentially 'static' with respect to each other, but the spring will compress and being that close to the hose, 1mm of separation isn't a lot of comfort-room to mitigate the risk of long-term rubbing, right?

Next -- driving home yesterday, and again today for a short trip, the steering definitely feels differently and is very stiff when the wheel is between the 10 and 2 position (so much so that if I place the wheel anywhere within that 10 and 2 area, the wheel will essentially just remain there and the vehicle will continue to turn if I take my hands off the wheel).

Would the steering stiffness be the result of not yet having gone to get an alignment done, or is it indicative of something I might have done wrong with the install?

Lastly, I'm assuming it's alright to drive short-term (and short distances) before I get the alignment done, but please let me know if this isn't right. It may be a few weeks before I can find a place and schedule an alignment -- I suspect I may have to travel a couple of hours to do it as I've seen several folks here say that most normal places won't know how to properly work the alignment for some of these aftermarket setups.

If there's something else I can check or should report on or take pictures of, please let me know! This was a big learning experience for me and I had fun doing it.

(PS if anybody knows of a good shop to do the alignment in Central California, please let me know!)

 

Resi hose looks normal. They will soften up after a bit and you can pull them out a hair if you want.

Dont worry about how the steering feels till you get an alignment.

Post in the norcal bs thread about a alignment shop.
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/norcal-spotted-and-bs-thread.53517/unread

 

go to a les Schwab tire. they deal with tacomas everyday. tacomas are their service vehicles. they got mine set perfectly

 

Alignment completed today at a place about 45 minutes north of me. Did some research and a nearby off-road custom place recommended them. Passed on the advice I was given over the last couple of days: get caster as close to +3 a possible, with camber and toe as close to zero as possible. Here is where we ended up (top half is BEFORE, bottom half is AFTER):



A couple of observations after I drove away:

1) The steering is still stiff/tight from about 10 o'clock to 2 o'clock, and if I move the steering wheel anywhere in there and let go, the steering wheel will tend to stay there and the truck continues to turn. I had hoped the alignment would fix this, but it's still there. Slightly better than before the alignment, but still there. What can I do to investigate/troubleshoot this?

2) The truck drives straight and true, and there are no noticeable wobbles, shimmies, or wandering/drifting that occurs at any speed. (It drove great pre-alignment as well)
BUT
3) After the alignment, the steering wheel is tilted about 4 degrees to the right (clockwise) when driving straight forward. If I straighten the wheel out, the truck will begin drifting left.

Is the steering something that I can address on my own by working with the tie rods? The tech asked me if I was sure I wanted the toe at 0, reminding me that was not the recommended factory spec.

Appreciate any advice that can be provided!

 

the alignment shop should have centered your steering wheel, its part of the alignment. also i always thought you should have a bit of tow in and not have it at zero.

 

x2 on both of these. I refuse to pay for an alignment until I can drive it around the block. Even though they always do, I figure they do this all day every day, they're not really paying attention. Last time it took them 2 tries to get my steering wheel straight. That's the most obvious part of it, why wouldn't you get that right?! I'm not sure of the degrees (fractions thereof, actually), but I too have heard that you're supposed to have some toe in. *5 minutes later* OK I Google'd and found a bunch of posts on this site where people go with 0* toe, I think the important thing is to not have negative toe. This also probably depends on track car vs. street truck vs. lifted trail truck

 

Yeah, thanks for the extra input. The guy did take it around the block, but I did not -- he said the everything was good when he returned and it honestly took a bit on my way home before I realized it was off. I think he did a good job otherwise -- I'll be more aware of this in the future though. Am I able to correct this as a quick DIY?

 

You could try disconnecting the steering linkage and jumping a tooth on it.

Any other kind of dickering is going to throw your toe off.

 

This. But I'd be more inclined to have the shop correct it, it's what you paid them for.